1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a reel that winds recording tape such as magnetic tape and to a recording tape cartridge.
2. Related Art
As external storage media for computers and the like, recording tape cartridges are known which include a case housing a reel onto which, for example, a magnetic tape is wound. The reel includes a hub, which configures the axial center portion of the reel and around whose outer periphery the magnetic tape is wound, and an upper flange and a lower flange, which project outward in the radial direction from both axial direction ends of the hub.
Conventionally, a recording tape cartridge has been known which includes a single reel onto which is wound recording tape such as magnetic tape used as a data recording and playback medium for computers and the like, and the reel is rotatably housed inside a case made of synthetic resin. A leader member, such as a leader pin, leader tape, or a leader block, is provided on the distal end (free end) of the recording tape, and a pullout member disposed in a drive device pulls out the leader member from an opening in the recording tape cartridge so that the recording tape fixed to the pullout member is wound onto a take-up reel in the drive device.
In the reel of such recording tape cartridges, the recording tape is ordinarily wound around the outer peripheral surface of the hub. The upper flange and the lower flange are disposed on the top and bottom of the hub, the height position of the recording tape in the vertical direction is regulated by the upper and lower flanges, the recording tape is retained such that its wound form is good, its running stability improves, and excessive damage is prevented when the recording tape is not in use.
For example, in Japanese Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2001-118358, a loop member formed in a loop is provided extending downward from the undersurface of the upper flange, and a leg portion formed with a claw portion engageable with the loop member is provided on the upper surface of the lower flange. With the claw portion engaged with the loop member, the hub is interposed between and held by the upper flange and the lower flange so as to permit the magnetic tape to be wound onto the outer peripheral surface of the hub.
However, when the reel is dropped with the magnetic tape wound onto the hub, there is the possibility for the claw portion to be easily disengaged from the loop member and for the claw portion and the loop member to sustain damage, so that problems in terms of strength are of concern.